HOUSTON – A third person has been arrested in the death of 5-year-old Houston boy Samuel Olson, according to reports.
Dylan Walker, 27, has been arrested and charged with tampering with evidence, KPRC, KSAT’s sister station in Houston, reported on Friday. He has since posted a $125,000 bond.
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Olson’s body was discovered in a plastic tote on June 1 at a motel in Jasper, just days after he was reported missing by Theresa Raye Balboa, who was the girlfriend of Olson’s father.
Investigators said Walker drove the Balboa to Jasper and rented out the motel room, according to KPRC. Balboa was allegedly on her way to Louisiana.
The Houston Chronicle reported that the room was in Walker’s name, and he helped move the plastic tote that was holding the boy’s body.
Walker is the third suspect to be arrested in this case.
Earlier this week, Benjamin Rivera, 27, was arrested and charged by Houston police with tampering with evidence, a human corpse, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Rivera is the roommate of Balboa, who was charged earlier this month.
Balboa was also charged with tampering with evidence, a human corpse, records show.
Police believe Samuel died weeks before he was reported missing on May 27, according to an arrest affidavit. He would have turned 6 on May 29.
Rivera told investigators Balboa called him on May 10 and said the boy was dead, according to the affidavit. The boy’s body was kept in the bathtub of the suburban Houston apartment where Balboa lived until she and Rivera placed it in a plastic tote and hid it in a storage unit on May 13, police said.
A tip from a friend of Balboa led police to the motel room in Jasper.
Samuel’s cause of death has been ruled a homicide but additional details of how he died have not been released by authorities.
Balboa, 29, remains jailed on bonds totaling $600,000.
Prosecutors have said they plan to file additional charges against Balboa.
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